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Johnny Depp returns to cinemas this year for the first time since 2020 in his new historical-fiction movie Jeanne du Barry.
However, the former Pirates of the Caribbean star was supposed to hit silver screens a lot sooner than that in the 2022 Harry Potter spin-off Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.
Depp played the villain Gellert Grindelwald in the first film in the series, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and reprised his role in the follow-up, The Crimes of Grindelwald. But after Depp lost his libel case against The Sun in the UK, he was “asked to step down” from the role by Warner Bros.
Now, while promoting Jeanne du Barry at Cannes, Depp has opened up about how this surreal experience made him feel.
“Did I feel boycotted by Hollywood?” Depp said, according to Page Six. “Well, you’d have to not have a pulse to feel at that point like this was all just a weird joke.”
READ MORE: Johnny Depp compared to Jack Sparrow over ‘rotting’ teeth as he grins at Cannes
Depp went on to reference his exit from The Secrets of Dumbledore, saying: “When you’re asked to resign from a film you’re doing because of something that’s merely a bunch of vowels and consonants floating in the air…” before trailing off.
He later added: “Do I feel boycotted now? No, not at all. But I don’t feel boycotted, because I don’t think about Hollywood. I don’t feel much further need for Hollywood.”
These comments are the first thing the 59-year-old actor has said about the role since his resignation back in November 2020.
At the time, Depp posted on his Instagram account: “In light of recent events, I would like to make the following short statement. Firstly I’d like to thank everybody who has gifted me with their support and loyalty. I have been humbled and moved by your many messages of love and concern, particularly over the last few days.
“Secondly, I wish to let you know that I have been asked to resign by Warner Bros from my role as Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts and I have respected that and agreed to that request.”
After that, his next film to hit cinemas was 2020’s biographical movie Minamata.
The jury is still out on whether Depp will be returning to the Pirates of the Caribbean series.
Disney dropped the actor after his ex-wife, Amber Heard, wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post about domestic abuse.
He later battled Heard in court over this op-ed and the jury “unanimously” found the actress to have “defamed” him.
